Romania’s President Basescu launches fulminant campaign in a bid to win at impeachment referendum (May 7, 2007)

May 7, 2007 (Romania Report & sources)

On Saturday and Sunday, President Basescu managed to perform an actual “tour de force” by attending four electoral meetings both in Romania and abroad. Basescu galvanized tens of thousand of Romanians in Bucharest, Madrid, Castellon (Spain) and then back in Constanta, the country’s seaport at the Black Sea.


On Saturday morning, Mr. Basesecu met his Democrat Party supporters

Saturday – 11:00 a.m., during a National Council of the Democrat Party, Mr. Basescu formally launched his campaign. There, Mr. Basescu delivered a speech by unleashing bitter accusations at those who had impeached him, in front of some 1,000 supporters who came at the National Theatre in Bucharest.

The Democrats reassured Mr. Basescu of their support again putting forth the idea of early elections should Basescu overcome in the referendum.

To date, the Democrats represent the most powerful political force in Romania as recent opinion polls place the Democrat Party at about 32-39 percent, in case of early elections. Romania’s Democrat Party is a European People’s Party (EPP) group member.


12,000 Romanians joined Basescu demonstrations in Madrid, Castellon (Spain)

Some 12,000 Romanian workers in Spain rallied in support of Romania’s suspended President Traian Basescu in Madrid and Castellon on Saturday evening as Basescu launched his campaign for a “no” vote in the May 19 referendum, where Romanians are invited to have their say whether to remove him from office or not.

Some 10,000 people attended the demonstration on a ‘corrida’ arena in Castellon, with another 2,000 in Madrid. A separate meeting organized by Basescu’s Social-Democrat opponents drew only some 200 people in Castellon, also on Saturday.

“On May 19, you can take Romania back from the hands of the oligarchs”, Basescu told crowds in Castellon, thus underlining accusations that his political opponents are controlled by oligarchs with cross-party interests.

Mr. Basescu was accompanied by ex-Justice Minister Monica Macovei and ex-EU Integration Minister Anca Boagiu on his trip to Spain. The two ministers were removed from the government in a major reshuffle focused against all of Basescu’s Democrat Party supporters, who were ousted from the government alliance with PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu’s Liberals this spring.

“You should call your families back home and tell them to cast their vote at the referendum”, Basescu told the crowds. “And if you want to deal with people like me, vote for the European people’s Party”, he urged them.

The vote of the Romanian community in Spain is seen as key in the upcoming referendum as unofficial statistics put the number of Romanian workers there at over one million.


Suspended President meets 25,000 supporters in Constanta, on Sunday

Romania’s suspended President Traian Basescu met some 25,000 supporters in the Black Sea city port of Constanta on Sunday, telling them that the 322 MPs who voted for his suspension in April should resign after a referendum takes place on May 19. The referendum was called by Basescu’s parliamentary opponents to have him removed from office for breaching the Romanian Constitution.

The Constanta protest gathered supporters from no less than eight counties in South-Eastern Romania.

Basescu was accompanied by many prominent Democrat Party (PD) officials, including ministers who were ousted this spring, by their former Liberal allies. Ex-Justice minister Monica Macovei was among the officials who attended the event.

Basescu said in his speech that he was suspended for having refused to “negotiate with the post-communist emerged oligarchy”.

MR. Basescu was quoted in Romanian media on Monday as having mentioned his opposition to Romania’s dependence on Russian energy and his pro-Western politics.

The meeting was the first official meeting to be held in Romania in Basescu’s campaign for a “no” vote in the May 19 referendum, where Romanians are invited to decide whether to remove him from office or not.

Basescu was suspended with 322 votes out of 410 MPs in the Parliament in April on charges of allegedly breaching the Constitution, despite the Constitutional Court ruled that the charges were unfounded.



Romania Report & sources